The Stretching Squeeze on My Favorite X-Files Episode Of All Time

The X-Files

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X-Files: Where is the Truth?

X-Files bizarrely became one of the most iconic cult science fiction shows in the 90s. The style and tone of the show -a combination of gloomy mixed with FBI sleuthing- gives this show an instantly iconic look. The show's creator Chris Carter has stated that the overall appearance of the show was to resemble the Deep Throat scenes in "All the President's Men". The iconic smoking man in the X-Files is clearly meant to take after the FBI agent Deep Throat.

The shows two starring actors -David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson- kept their performances always on point as the characters Mulder and Scully. Duchovny maintained a serious, questioning and ever curious face while he uncovered the unexplained mysteries of the X-Files. He also added much needed sarcastic wit to the show. Anderson keeps up a perplexed eyebrow and the right amount of distress in her scenes as the skeptic Scully. Scully is placed in Mulder's department to keep an eye on him, but she soon seems to at least suspect Mulder may be onto the truth that there are secrets out there that lie within or beyond the X-Files.

The cult classic show made audiences question where is the truth in various aspects of our daily lives. It has even made us question things beyond ourselves. What is truth? What is fabricated truth? What is hidden? And why is it hidden? These are questions the X-Files makes fans ponder more seriously. It may be a science fiction show, but it does grasp the mind in such a way that you begin to question everything more carefully.

The X-Files show was more recently released for one new season and another season is coming out in 2018. X-Files has a strong following from the past and an ever growing group of newer fans. I recently became a new fan of the show from watching it on Netflix. From the first episode I was drawn into the world and the characters of the X-Files. The gloominess. The thrill. The FBI investigating. The scares. The monsters. The alien story arc. Every aspect of this television creation drew me to it with a vengeance. I still find myself often pondering: The Truth is out There. I credit this show with molding me to have the ability to consider events from various angles. I doubt that this cult show will be forgotten anytime soon by myself or by anyone else.

The Stretched Out Squeeze

I recently was put to task to write a blog post for a client about the top five X-Files episodes. I stuck with listing off the highest rated and critically acclaimed episodes for the blog post. Better safe then sorry when it comes to giving a client exactly what they want. The episodes I listed were: Beyond the Sea, Duane Barry, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, X-Cops, and Via Negativa.

Truth be told none of these five episodes are my personal favorite X-Files episodes. I decided to write this blog to outline which episode I think is the best. The episode of the X-Files series that gets my heart pumping in fear and curiosity is Squeeze. This episode is the first "creature feature" episode that the show creators made. The "creature feature" episodes are standalone from the alien cover up plotline that is explored throughout the series. The "creature features" proved that the X-Files show could handle a variety of supernatural plot points.

Squeeze is about a mysterious serial killer case that involves a lack of access points for the murderer to have reached the victim. The victims all have their livers removed. A strange, stretched out looking finger print is discovered at the scene of the crimes. Mulder goes through the X-Files records and finds that similar serial killing cases with elongated fingerprints found at the scene of the crime which happened in the years 1933 and 1963. Mulder attempts to point out that the elongated fingers of the past match up to the prints found at one of the crime scenes. Mulder proposes that the culprit is someone who can stretch out their body and squeeze into impossible entryways that no one else could fit through. The leader of the investigation ignores Mulder. Scully and Mulder decide to investigate past murder sites that were listed from the files on 1933 and 1963. They go to an old parking garage and hear someone in the vents. They yank out a man named Eugene Victor Tooms (played Doug Hutchison in a Hannibal Lector-like manner) from the ventilation system. Mulder interrogates him with a lie detector test. Mulder sneaks in a few questions asking if Tooms had been at any of the locations from the 1933 and 1963 cases. These questions are the only ones that Tooms fails during the test. Mulder points this out earnestly, which annoys the other agents on the case. Investigators decide to let Tooms go, but Mulder digitally elongates one of Tooms's fingerprints. It shows to match up with the fingerprints found at the scene of the crime. Scully and Mulder must work together to properly arrest Tooms in such a way that skeptics of Mulder's investigative methods can be proven wrong.

The appeal of Squeeze to me is that this episode really pulls you into the series. The first two episodes are back to back episodes that introduce the alien storyline. Those first episodes succeeded in getting your attention. However, Squeeze is what drew me further into the series. If the first two episodes were the bait to tempt you to the hook, Squeeze is the moment you are pulled in by the fishing reel. I found the storyline to be as frightening as the famous Silence of the Lambs horror film. The creators have said this episode had some creative differences happen during the writing and filming. Perhaps this added to the tension of the episode. And yeah, it is one of the tensest episodes of the X-Files. There is a constant fear for the lives of the two lead characters. I also find this episode is one of the most memorable. I can clearly recall details of it. Other people I have spoken to about the X-Files show can remember Squeeze if you bring up details about it. The people I have spoken with about this episode always shudder as if a cold wind hit them when they talk about this particular episode.

The creeptastic episode Squeeze will long be the X-Files episode I will put on during Halloween for some scares. I highly recommend this episode to anyone who loves horror and science fiction entertainment.

Tooms

The character Eugene Victor Tooms returns again in the twenty-first episode of the X-Files series. If you were freaked out by the Squeeze episode as much as I was, you should certainly check out Tooms.

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Oya Lee 8 weeks ago

Hi Nicole,

As a ‘stand alone’ subject within a single episode ,My Favourite X Files episode is ‘Monday’ - S6: Ep14.

For me it sheds light on why we have 'Déjà vu' moments in our lives 'Déjà vu' is that feeling of familiarity, of having already ‘done this before’ or ‘been here before’. That feeling of having already lived through or experienced something. The feeling of recollection.

Wikipedia Quotes: "Scientific approaches reject the explanation of 'Déjà vu' as precognition or prophecy, but rather explain it as an anomaly of memory, which creates a distinct impression that an experience is being recalled".

Whether the experience triggers the memory or the memory is a prophetic feeling &/or lifestyle, ‘Monday’, draws our attention to the subject.

2. As a secondary narrative, my fave storyline is the ‘Gibson Praise’ plot. It runs for a few episodes and seasons

S5, Ep20 - The End

S6: Ep1 - The Beginning

S8: Episodes 1 & 2 - Within & Without

S9: Ep19 - The Truth

Those are the appearance episodes of Gibson Andrew Praise/Gibson Praise, - played by the actor Jeff Gulka.